5 Lessons from Spinoza

Baruch de Spinoza (also known as Benedict or Bento de Spinoza;1632-1677) is a titan of philosophy who drew on his Sephardic Jewish background and on his education in the classics and in philosophy at the hands of an ex-Jesuit. He grew up speaking Portuguese in Amsterdam but was educated in Spanish and Hebrew. A quiet, calm man, Spinoza nevertheless angered the theological authorities of his Sephardic community of Portuguese and Spanish Jews. The result was a harsh decree of excommunication. Many consider his greatest work to be hisEthics(1677), published posthumously. In this work, he provides a roadmap for seeking happiness, genuine freedom, and virtue in life. My book discusses five lessons from Spinoza on these topics: God and nature (Ch. 1); determinism and free will (Ch. 2); the passions (Ch. 3); the power of the passions (Ch. 4); and human freedom (Ch. 5).Read more